Elgar: Very Easy Melodious Exercisesin the First Position Op. 22 Violin and Piano

Score and Part

After Elgar achieved huge success with the publication of Salut d’amour, in 1889 he attempted to establish himself in London and to live as a freelance artist. However, he was not able to gain a proper foothold, which is why the Elgars moved back to the countryside in Malvern in 1891. There, the composer had a steady flow of students and was able to make a good living as a violin teacher. The Very Easy Melodious Exercises for violin and piano date from this time. Originally composed for his niece, May Grafton, they reflect Elgar’s renewed interest in teaching. Traces of this activity are displayed in the autograph, which was apparently used in violin lessons and contains numerous fingerings that are missing from the edition published in 1892. In his Urtext edition, British Elgar expert and violinist Rupert Marshall-Luck documents these details in his usual meticulous manner, and in this way creates a newly verified musical text of this classic for violin teaching.